Thursday, July 29, 2010

Thanks to one of my BFF's Laura for nominating me for this very prestigious award. She has a fabulous blog and it is hilarious. So check it out!

So I have to tell you all 5 things about myself and then nominate another blog for the award. So check ME out.

1. I believe I have a small case of OCD. Most of my friends and my hub can vouch for that. Everything must be clean, straight, and I sanitize my hands quite frequently.

2. I love MEXICAN FOOD. Anytime we go out to eat we usually hit up a Mexican Restaurant. Here are some of our favorites: Sol Y Luna, Superior Grill, Cocina Superior, Chuy's, and El Poblano.

3. I totally wish I had my own show on The Food Network. I watch it all the time. Giada at Home, Cooking with Paula Dean, At home with the Neeley's, and Barefoot Contessa are a few of my favs. Sometimes I also wish I starred in "The Real Housewives of Alabama."

4. I am obsessed with Dance/Electronic music. Now that I am driving the vehicle that has siruis radio, you can always find my radio tuned to BPM!

5. A part of me would love to move to a HUGE city for a year or two in my young adult years (before children) like NYC or Chicago. A part of me would also love to live on a lot of land like on a farm or something. Just to experience it!

Ok so now that you know a few, very RANDOM things about me. I would like to nominate my friend Josie for this award, check out her blog. She has great ideas and wonderful recipes!

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Combine the carrots, bell pepper, leek, and potatoes in a streamer basket, place in a saucepan filled with 1 inch of boiling water. Cover tightly and steam until the vegetables are crisp and tender, about 2 minutes. Remove the steamer basket from the saucepan.
3. Tear off 4 (16 inch) squares of foil. Place 1/8th of vegetable mixture in the center of each foil square. Top each mound of vegetables with a salmon fillet, then cover with the remaining vegetable mixture. Spoon 2 Tablespoons of the hot broth over each portion; drizzle with 1 Tablespoon of the wine and 1 teaspoon of the oil. Sprinkle each with the basil, ginger, salt, and pepper; top with a lemon slice.
4. To close the packets, bring the 2 opposite long sides of the foil up to meet in the center; fold the edges over twice to make a tight seal. Double fold the open sides to seal the packets. Place the packets on a baking sheet and bake just until the salmon is opaque in the center. About 15 minutes. To serve, carefully open the packets, avoiding the steam that is released; slide the fish and vegetables onto plates. Serve drizzled with any juices.

I did not use leeks and I don't have a steamer basket. I just steamed the veggies in a sauce pan with an inch of water, covered. Helpful hint: I lay out everything, ready, so that it makes it a lot easier and faster to put together.

In a large bowl beat eggs, oil, and vanilla until well blended. Beat in flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Batter will be very thick when completely mixed. Stir in nuts and apples. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

From day 1, I have hated these beasts. I tucked and tucked every day, they were hard and stiff, just all around horrid.

After:

Thanks to my good friend Kerra! She had one on her sofa and I thought it looked and felt great. So I ordered some myself from JCPenny.com. Not only do they look sleeker, they are SO soft, and 2 separate pieces, so not as much tuck, tucking! The old beasts are on the credenza in this pic. If anyone wants them let me know! (not that anyone would after my complaints!)

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

I think I have a problem. Everything HAS to have a place. Yesterday morning I got the bee in my bonnet to organize the laundry room and underneath all the kitchen cabinets. Keep in mind, I organize the laundry room like once a month. It is my MAIN storage area for extra kitchen things I don't have room for, laundry supplies, my pool bags and towels, paper towels, toilet paper, etc. It's such a small room and A LOT of stuff is in there. Plus it is oddly shaped so if I put stuff in there I have to angle myself to put the wash in. Anywho. So I went to Target and bought 2 plastic drawer things, 1 to go in between the washer and one to fit in the odd space (but not cover the air vent! so it has rollers)

I went to the Dollar Tree (one of my very favorite stores) and bought all this.

Yes, I have to stand on the washer or dryer to get to any of this.. But I have to put this stuff somewhere!!

Great deals. I really have been wanting some Martini Glasses. So Sunday afternoon D$ brought me to Pier 1. I got 8 of these stemless Martini glasses for $2 a piece. These little white serving bowls were like a buck!! SO I got all of this for:

like $22!

They had a lot of glassware and serving pieces on MAJOR sale.

Go get you some!

I also realized I could serve dessert in these glasses too, I think it would be pretty!

Friday, June 11, 2010

This is almost a re-post. Thanks to my good friend Lauren who wrote the Recipe-Friday post last Friday! I just have to say, I've made yellow cupcakes with Sprite Zero and chocolate icing. Yellow cake with chocolate icing is Drew's favorite. I also made Devil's food cake (with 50% less sugar, made with Splenda) and diet coke. This one was my favorite. It was so moist and delish! I topped it with cool whip and kept it in the fridge at my friend Jessica's suggestion. Then for our girls supper club Wednesday night I made triple chocolate fudge cake with diet coke and cool whip. It seemed to be a hit! There were only 2 pieces left over! If you haven't tried it already, I HIGHLY recommend it. Saves so many calories and there is NO difference in taste! All you have to do is make it like the back of the box but leave out the eggs, oil, and water and replace them with a diet canned beverage!

Saturday morning I am making my Italian grandmother's (Nanny) Apple cake for D$'s parents birthday. I even cut out a stencil that says HAPPY BIRTHDAY for me to use when I sprinkle my powdered sugar on. I'm out of control. I'm sure it is delicious and maybe next Friday I will share that recipe and a pic or 2! Have a fabulous weekend!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

I found these cute numbers at this store called Wrapsody in Patton Creek. I got these for $2 a piece. Obviously, it is our house number. I can't decide how I want to incorporate them. Hang them over a door? Try and make a wreath and hang them from that for the front door? I don't know, does anyone have any suggestions?

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Sweet D$ was nice enough to stay 2.5 hours after a huge church service on Sunday. Unfortunately, I could only wait on him for an hour (I had a migraine and felt HORRIBLE). When he was done he told me he had some presents for me. I was like what? I thought in my head, I've been waiting on you for forever and you stopped and got something? haha. Well I walked outside and he had these beauties.

Pretty azaleas and ferns. Not sure how to care for them, so anyone who knows, please inform me!! I put the azaleas in a pot and watered them all, but that is it. Our front porch is starting to look like I am a crazy plant lady, luckily not a crazy cat lady. I'd like to move some to the back porch with the cute new table and chairs, but I don't know what can be in the sun constantly. Any help would be much appreciated!!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Recently I have been in a nesting phase minus the pregnant thing. I have organized every room, every closet, every under the counter space, ETC. I'm posting some pictures to show up I organize, mostly by category.

This is the pantry.

I organized the cans with cans, all the baking mixes, etc. I put the things I use daily in arms reach. I put the things I don't use very often in the back or up top.

These are great. I picked them up at Target yesterday. I put all of our zone and south beach and granola bars in 1 box, instead of having 6 boxes strung all over the pantry. I also have misc. snack foods in the bottom one.

Fridge. Drinks up top; dairy on next shelf, like yogurt, butter, etc. ; drinks; and meat on the bottom shelf.

Condiments on first 2 shelves on the door; salad dressing and marinades; then things I don't use often on the bottom!

The time it takes to organize is SO worth it. Yesterday I spent an hour on the pantry, fridge, and the cleaning supplies under the kitchen sink. I recommend organizing every couple of months. That way, there is NO way it can get completely out of control and you can also weed things out due to expiration dates. Hope this will inspire someone to get organized!

Friday, June 4, 2010

Sarah has been begging me to tell her the recipe for this cake and still doesn’t quite get how it works. But it seriously is as simple as a boxed cake mix and one 12 oz can of a diet soda. That’s it!

The famous Diet Coke cake is a well-loved recipe for dieters. Almost any diet soda will work. Lemon lime or cream sodas work great for yellow and white cakes. Cola, cherry cola and root beer are excellent for chocolate cakes! These cakes come out exceptionally moist and sticky, but delicious!

· Combine the box of cake mix with the can of diet soda in a medium mixing bowl. If desired, add sprinkles or miniature chocolate candies to make confetti cake - yum! You can color a light colored cake with a bit of colored sugar or food coloring as well. Mix well to make your cake batter.

(* the batter will be runny and clumpy, use a fork to break up the clumps as best as possible )

· You may now follow the baking directions on the box - this will make two layers, or twenty-four cupcakes.

Make sure to switch the positions of the pans in the oven, halfway through baking!

· Allow to cool in pans for about a half hour before you frost or try to eat your cake. You can enjoy this cake as is - it's far more moist than normal cake. Topping ideas: fat-free whipped topping, strawberry or fruit preserves, honey, marshmallow fluff

I haven’t taken many pictures of my “creations” however, here’s a half-eatened final project, and my try at mixing batters!

Any questions – email me at calvela@gmail.com.

Once you give this recipe a shot, you’ll never go back to using eggs, and oil.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

World Market has a lot of cute stuff right now. When I went to look for out door tables, I got a little bit of EVERYTHING else instead of a table. Like these lovely place mats. I love the pattern and the colors are perfect. They easily lay flat as well. They were $3.99 a piece.

When my parents were here this past weekend we went to our "favorite." The old Ethan Allan store on 31, "Interiors and Antiques." I believe that is what it is called. I found these awesome vases. I was looking for some sort of contraption to put my dried bridal bouquet in. These vases were less than $10 a piece! I was shocked. They are thick glass too. So right now I have my bridesmaids bouquet from Kerra's wedding in one.

And my bouquet. Unfortunately, it was not dried hanging up, it was laying flat. My mom couldn't do it because there was an emergency trip my family had to take the day after our wedding. But, my favorite way to dry flowers is so easy! Use a wire hanger and some clothes pins. Take the bouquet or flowers and clip the stems to the hanger and hang them somewhere out of the way to dry, like the garage or laundry room.

Here is my bouquet on top of our china cabinet.

And I finally found a table to go with the cute chairs. I found it at Ross for $29.99!! It was the cheapest I found, exactly what I was looking for, and the wood matches perfectly.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

I was very privileged to be a part of a wonderful friend's wedding this past weekend. All of the events were beautiful and so much fun. I loved spending time with great friends I don't get to see very often and having my parents in town. Everything was perfect, here are some pictures.

Beautiful centerpieces at the Bridesmaids Brunch.

Myself with the blushing bride!

Wedding day after hair and makeup.

FABULOUS bridesmaids bouquets.

With monogrammed ribbon!

Happy, Newlywed Couple!

Thanks to the hubs always coming to support me at all the weddings!

So happy for you Kerra and Chris! I wish you nothing but the best in all the years to come! =)

Friday, May 28, 2010

Chop up your favorite veggies. I use 1 cucumber, 1 onion, 1 green bell pepper, and 1 tomato.
I put them in a container that has a top. Pour over some Italian salad dressing, enough to coat. Also a couple of Tablespoons of white or apple cider vinegar. Let them sit in the fridge a couple of hours and you have an incredibly easy, healthy, yummy side of veggies!

Tilapia

I buy the bag of frozen Tilapia at Target. There are 6 individually wrapped tilapia fillets. Follow the directions to thaw (or you could use fresh). Pam the bottom of a pyrex, heat the oven as directed. Place the fish in the pyrex, salt and pepper the fillets. In a small bowl chop up some whole wheat bread crumbs, put a Tablespoon of dijion mustard and a few drops of lemon juice. Put the mixture on top of the tilapia and bake as directed. I believe it is 12-14 minutes. The mixture gets a little crispy and gives the fish a lot of flavor.

Rice

I recently have been making the Uncle Ben's 90 second packages. They are great, so quick, and always turn out great! So choose whatever flavor you like!

Enjoy your weekend. We have an exciting weekend planned for all of Kerra and Chris's wedding festivities! YAY!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Preparing to spray paint. I wanted to take the 2 more "wild colored" crosses and paint them white to make the cross wall a little more neutral. The flower topiaries came from my grandmother a few years ago. Originally the bottoms were blue and for my apartment I painted them green, flowers remained light pink. So I sprayed all of these things white.

Before:

After:

(For now, I have them in the guest room, haven't quite figured out where I am going to put them)

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About Me

I am a recent Interior Design graduate with a minor in Art. I'm originally from Huntsville, AL. I recently got married and we live in Birmingham, AL. I love being creative and crafty. I'm drawn to Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture and highly influenced by his work. I love space planning, drawing, and refurbishing things to give them a completely different look. I really want to learn to sculpt, become a better photographer, and take up dance again. I enjoy spending time with my family, playing cards with friends, listening to all kinds of music, cooking and baking, exercising in the fresh air, and learning new things. Right now, I am searching for a job, working on little projects around the house, and enjoying the things I have re-done in the house!